The Hawaiian giant is recovering

Over the decades, locals have gathered, feasted and proposed under the 150-year-old banyan tree in downtown Lahaina, Hawaii. But last month, after a fire quickly spread through this West Maui town, burning the tree, some feared it might not survive.

It was then that green shoots began to unfold around the trunk of the sacred giant of the community; others burst from its branches between the brown and withered leaves.

This week, the Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources released a video showing vibrant green leaves on the tree, describing them as “positive signs for its long-term recovery.” The Ministry highlighted the work of arborists who offered their time and expertise to care for the banyan tree.

“When we saw the first leaves appear on the canopy of the tree, we really rejoiced,” said Chris Imonti, a landscape contractor who has spent the last few weeks carefully tending the banyan tree. For many residents, he added, its regrowth symbolizes “hope and perhaps some normalcy in the long term.”

On August 8, wildfires ravaged the island of Maui and killed at least 97 people. Most of Lahaina, a community of 13,000 that was once the capital of the Hawaiian kingdom, was destroyed.

The tree, a Ficus benghalensis, or banyan fig, was only six feet tall when it was planted in 1873 to commemorate a Protestant mission to Lahaina half a century earlier. Years of careful care by locals allowed the tree to grow, according to the Lahaina Restoration Foundation, a nonprofit preservation organization that describes the tree as the largest of its kind in the United States. Rising more than 15 meters near an old courthouse, the banyan tree has become a popular landmark for locals.

Immediately after the fire, some arborists and foresters feared the worst for the tree. Its trunk appeared badly charred, and its canopy – which had grown to cover more than half an acre – was scorched, its leaves browned to brittle.

But Mr. Imonti said that when he visited the site about a week later, he was pleasantly surprised to find living microbes in the soil, as well as roots and green tissue inside the trunk. “The tree was theoretically in major shock, but it was still alive,” he said.

Over the next few days, contractors and construction companies mobilized to bring between 5,000 and 10,000 gallons (19,000 to 38,000 liters) of water per day to the banyan tree, to soak the ground and try to treat the roots of the tree, Mr. Imonti explained. The next step was to douse the foliage and surrounding area with a liquid concoction, called “compost tea,” which includes worm castings, sea minerals and kelp to speed up nutrient absorption and minerals from the tree.

After the second treatment, responders “saw a lot of new roots growing,” Mr. Imonti said. By the third treatment, new shoots began to appear.

While he and others hope the tree will make a full recovery, they caution that it will take time and recovery may not be complete. Nearby, other trees, including historic breadfruit or ulu trees, which are culturally significant to Hawaiians, also need additional care in the wake of the fire, the researcher and others said.

Steve Nimz, a volunteer arborist who helped restore the banyan tree, said he was optimistic, given that the trees have a long history of adapting to harsh conditions such as hurricanes, storms and fires. “It’s not like they’ve never been through this before, over the millions of years they’ve been around, they’re adapting,” he said.

He cautions that it may be too early to establish the lasting effects of the fire. “Just because the new leaves are coming out doesn’t mean the tree will be completely okay – it just means the tree is moving in the right direction,” Mr Nimz said.

“The tree will speak to us,” he added. And we’re going to listen to the tree. »

This article was originally published in the New York Times.